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So, I would of already rooted my Droid 3, exept, that it did not have custom recovery. But I want to make sure that both of these are available
Rom Manager
Custom Recovery(Obviously)
Thanks for any response.
techno-update said:
So, I would of already rooted my Droid 3, exept, that it did not have custom recovery. But I want to make sure that both of these are available
Rom Manager
Custom Recovery(Obviously)
Thanks for any response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Droid 3 Bootstrap or Safestrap as a custom recovery, IMO I see no reason to use ROM manager, as Safestrap (what I use) works perfectly..
Safestrap is better than normal Bootstrap because you can enable the "safe system" and install the system partition on the /preinstall directory (so you can leave your normal system intact) Although it depends on your phone model, if you're running a XT862 (Motorola Droid 3 - Verizon) then you're set. Other phone models have issues with safestrap.
-You might be able to use ROM Manager, but I would stick with Safestrap or Bootstrap because I KNOW that they work.
I like to use custom recovery though because it is easier/simpler and faster to do. I had it on my Droid Incredible. Just want to make sure it works right now. Though i will look at that. How would i apply it?
techno-update said:
I like to use custom recovery though because it is easier/simpler and faster to do. I had it on my Droid Incredible. Just want to make sure it works right now. Though i will look at that. How would i apply it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to find Safestrap via Hashcode's website, go to the [SELFKANG] Cyanogenmod 7 page in Android Development, and you will be able to find his website that has the file. It is an APK file, so you just install it and run the installation from the app. I have not used custom recovery through ROM Manager, because I don't think it's compatible, but you could try it out..
The Mods need to sticky kshen1's information thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1289611
-smc
somemadcaaant said:
The Mods need to sticky kshen1's information thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1289611
-smc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so we do have it, can I flash it from Rom Manager?
techno-update said:
Okay, so we do have it, can I flash it from Rom Manager?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't think we can, rom manager flashes a version of the custom recovery to the bootloader which runs before the phone runs so that if you accidentally mess up your phone, you can easily restore it back to how it was before, and we don't have an unlocked bootloader, so by using the 2nd-init, we bypass needing to unlock the bootloader to be able to run custom ROMs (at least this is the way i understand it), so until they release a bootloader unlock, we're stuck using 2nd-init and bootstrap/safestrap to load up custom roms.....some roms you need to use safestrap and for some you need to use bootstrap, so you'd just have to check their instructions they give before the download link to make sure you're using the right one, using the wrong one can cause unforseen things to happen and can possibly brick your phone
Alright, I rooted, installed bootstrap recovery. Everything is good. Thanks guys.
My Droid 4 is bricked, but out seems to me that if I could get safestrap recovery in, I could boot any working "safe" ROM and leave my non-functioning "unsafe" system alone until the day a fastboot image becomes available.
The only wrinkle is that since the current OS is bricked, I can't load the Safestrap recovery via Apk. Is there any way to load it using one of the remaining capabilities in the phone (normal recovery, fastboot, etc.)?
I definitely don't have the full technical ability to answer your question, but to get the ball rolling:
Can you get adb up and running? If you can't, my guess is no... If you can, somebody who knows more than I do might be able to get you going...
Call Motorola or the wireless vendor where you got your phone and play dumb.
How did you brick your phone?
I bricked mine the first time by restoring a saved stock rom that I had made. Little did I know, but I got the webtop save mixed up, and totally soft-bricked my handset.
Safestrap is a good alternative to having nothing, but you should read everything there is to know about it before installing it. Conceptually, it doesn't share a whole lot with the original clockworkmod recovery.
RueTheDayTrebek said:
Call Motorola or the wireless vendor where you got your phone and play dumb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've thought about it. (1) there's stuff on the internal "sdcard" (/sdcard, as distinct from the removable real SDC) I'd like to recover if I could, so restoring the phone I have right now is preferable, unless restoring from a fastboot recovery wipes /sdcard).. and (2) I hate the idea of "cheating" on a warranty for a self-inflicted product failure, both on the ethics of it and on the remote possibility I could get caught.
How did you brick your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had safely rooted the phone (Droid 4 Utility is awesome) and installed Titanium Backup Pro. I was playing around with freezing bloatware, deleting bloatware, and the like... the last thing I did before rebooting and never coming back was integrating system application dalvik cache into the ROM and then undoing that integration. But I can't be sure that was the killer, since I hadn't rebooted for a while before that... one of the other changes earlier could have been it.
Safestrap is a good alternative to having nothing, but you should read everything there is to know about it before installing it. Conceptually, it doesn't share a whole lot with the original clockworkmod recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I recognize it's a very different world because of the locked bootstrap, so I'd obviously have to adapt to the differences, but just the ability to get some use out of the phone before the fastboot recovery leaks would be a good start. My needs are not great. Something besides repeated reboots ("Droid..." every 10 seconds until the battery runs flat) would make me happier than a pig in slop.
podspi said:
I definitely don't have the full technical ability to answer your question, but to get the ball rolling:
Can you get adb up and running? If you can't, my guess is no... If you can, somebody who knows more than I do might be able to get you going...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. The times I've tried, the phone never boots to the point that the USB debugging driver on the PC ever sees the phone ("adb devices" lists nothing).
About the only interaction I can get to is to force the phone into fastboot and plugging in with the fastboot USB driver on the PC. RSD Lite does see the phone then. Too bad I don't have a fastboot recovery to use at that point.
As the title says, I'd like to root, but with somewhat limited knowledge on the phone and it's processes, and no knowledge of scripting/coding, I want to avoid taking too much risk.
I've been stock with the D3 since I got the phone in 2011, found out we aren't getting ICS, and we aren't getting unlocked by Moto. (pissed off!) >.<
The way I see it I have 2 options, 1) stay stock until my contract is up in march and get a new phone, or 2) Give root a go, and Have ICS ported to me via a Custom Rom, and do more research as I go. (I like being hands-on when it comes to learning).
As to my phone, I am running 906 OTA Stock as it gets .. -_-' I'd like to root using
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1686911 <-- ovelayer's method in this thread. (thank you Ovelayer, I can't seem to find that button so I'm just acknowledging you here since I'm new to this kind-of thing).
I just need some clarification
in his thread it says to dl the 1-click .exe, then the Motofail root tool? or is that also a way to root? I got confused with that.
Afterwards, I dl safestrap once I'm rooted? or should I just dl it and put it onto my phone all at once?
Apologies for the noobness. I'd rather be a noob asking questions than a retard who goes ahead and does things and finds out he screwed up too late.
Rooting is done to get superuser permissions within Android so you can install some advanced apps and modify system files which can all be done from within the stock ROM. Rooting then flashing an unofficial ROM is a little more advanced and something I haven't done yet so I can't help you much there. I'm waiting for something a little more stable since my Droid 3 is my main phone. You can read Hash of Codes site (the developer of ICS/JB for the Droid 3) on how to safestrap:
http://blog.hash-of-codes.com/how-to-safestrap/
To root use Motofail. I know it says its for the Droid 4 but the original Droid 3 root exploit was patched with the latest OTA so we have to use the Droid 4 method called Motofail:
http://vulnfactory.org/blog/2012/02/11/rooting-the-droid-4-a-failed-bounty-experiment/
DróidScìon said:
As the title says, I'd like to root, but with somewhat limited knowledge on the phone and it's processes, and no knowledge of scripting/coding, I want to avoid taking too much risk.
I've been stock with the D3 since I got the phone in 2011, found out we aren't getting ICS, and we aren't getting unlocked by Moto. (pissed off!) >.<
The way I see it I have 2 options, 1) stay stock until my contract is up in march and get a new phone, or 2) Give root a go, and Have ICS ported to me via a Custom Rom, and do more research as I go. (I like being hands-on when it comes to learning).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My D3 has Maverick as non-safe for daily driver and the latest Hashcode for fun. I find that to be the best combination. Once Hash finishes the camera and JB is working reasonable well, JB will be my DD.
I also have an SGS3, TF300T, and a Spica, all of them rooted.
once rooted, make sure you use safe strap. It makes roms easy to try out before having to settle
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
Alright, so it appears I have been rooted, and still looks like I'm in .906 OTA. It was pretty easy using Motofail, actually. So, now I have Superuser and Titanium Backup(free, for now) on my D3.
Now, you guys mentioned Safestrap? Can you guys give me a suggestion on which one to use? There appear to be a few of them. 1 is SAFESTRAP v2.10 Recovery (Kexec) and the other is a Tweaked version of Safestrap v1.08e (Non-Kex) which one is better, or a better question, whats the difference between the 2?
DróidScìon said:
Alright, so it appears I have been rooted, and still looks like I'm in .906 OTA. It was pretty easy using Motofail, actually. So, now I have Superuser and Titanium Backup(free, for now) on my D3.
Now, you guys mentioned Safestrap? Can you guys give me a suggestion on which one to use? There appear to be a few of them. 1 is SAFESTRAP v2.10 Recovery (Kexec) and the other is a Tweaked version of Safestrap v1.08e (Non-Kex) which one is better, or a better question, whats the difference between the 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap 1.08 is the 'normal' ssafestrap
Safestrap 1.08e/f/g is an advanced safestrap with extra features like touch etc but not by hashcode
Safestrap 2.10 is the latest which allows the new kernel with the kexec ICS/JB to be used.
2.10 It appears to also work fine with normal roms so i'd use that
DróidScìon said:
As to my phone, I am running 906 OTA Stock as it gets .. -_-' I'd like to root using
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1686911 <-- ovelayer's method in this thread. (thank you Ovelayer, I can't seem to find that button so I'm just acknowledging you here since I'm new to this kind-of thing).
I just need some clarification
in his thread it says to dl the 1-click .exe, then the Motofail root tool? or is that also a way to root? .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were stock 906, there was no reason to run the 1-click.exe - that's only for people who rooted their phones and deleted bloatware to get the phone back to stock, or people whose phones are bricked somehow. Coming from stock, just running Motofail was enough to root.
I will concur with everyone here that running rooting, installing and running Safestrap, and installing a custom ROM - and leaving your rooted stock alone - is the best way to go. It will be a lot easier to unroot later on if you want to sell the phone, etc.
Alright, Safestrap 2.01 is installed. According to Hash's Blog, I should create a backup when in the Recovery Menu since its my first time accessing the Safestrap Menu. Can I get a little more detail as to how I do this? When I select backup, it asks if I want to backup from Internal SD or External? I'm assuming Internal, but I just want to err on the side of caution and ask those who already know.
DróidScìon said:
Alright, Safestrap 2.01 is installed. According to Hash's Blog, I should create a backup when in the Recovery Menu since its my first time accessing the Safestrap Menu. Can I get a little more detail as to how I do this? When I select backup, it asks if I want to backup from Internal SD or External? I'm assuming Internal, but I just want to err on the side of caution and ask those who already know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter. Choose which has enough space.
DróidScìon said:
Alright, Safestrap 2.01 is installed. According to Hash's Blog, I should create a backup when in the Recovery Menu since its my first time accessing the Safestrap Menu. Can I get a little more detail as to how I do this? When I select backup, it asks if I want to backup from Internal SD or External? I'm assuming Internal, but I just want to err on the side of caution and ask those who already know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's asking where to backup TO, like the post above me, choose wherever has space. Backups are about 1GB. You may wish to move it to your computer after if you don't have much space on your device. You can always stick it back on your external sd via card reader if needed, but it's really hard to brick while using safestrap
Also one of the most common errors for noobs on safestrap is, the first time you engage safe mode, you must flash a rom. Since its using a different partition for system, it's currently empty and if you switch to safe and try to boot you will get a black screen as you are booting an empty partition. All gingerbread roms are stable but there are no ics roms that are fully functional, although one is in the works
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium
I saw that, and before I rooted, I did a Factory Reset on the phone and formatted my SD card. So I have 11+gig free on Internal and 15+gigs on External.
Now, I just need to learn to Flash RoMs (probably more to it than just hitting a button that says flash .zip) and find some info on the "must-have" apps for a rooted phone.
Well guys, I've successfully installed CM9 Kexec ICS Sept 5th update from Hashcode on my Droid 3! Now, another big question, How will I restore stuff like contact and account info? I've read somewhere around here that Restoring Data from my google account is a bad idea?? Are there other ways of doing so without Titanium Backup, or should I just go ahead and buy the Pro Key? (currently limited funding)
DróidScìon said:
Well guys, I've successfully installed CM9 Kexec ICS Sept 5th update from Hashcode on my Droid 3! Now, another big question, How will I restore stuff like contact and account info? I've read somewhere around here that Restoring Data from my google account is a bad idea?? Are there other ways of doing so without Titanium Backup, or should I just go ahead and buy the Pro Key? (currently limited funding)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your contacts are on your google account they will show up.
What other account info do you mean?
You should go ahead and restore contacts. just go to Settings>Accounts and Sync>Google, then turn contacts sync on.
Endoroid said:
Also one of the most common errors for noobs on safestrap is, the first time you engage safe mode, you must flash a rom. Since its using a different partition for system, it's currently empty and if you switch to safe and try to boot you will get a black screen as you are booting an empty partition. All gingerbread roms are stable but there are no ics roms that are fully functional, although one is in the works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must have made another noob mistake. Everything went well, up until my first startup with the new OS (cyanogenmod9). It has been at the startup screen for over 15minutes right now. I must say, it is one awesome startup screen, with the blue effects and all, but I would love to get to the desktop/homescreen, haha.
If you guys have any advice I would greatly appreciate it. This is a Droid 3, it was rooted a couple hours ago, I did the safestrap as described, created a backup file, etc. My only guess is I jumped the gun by trying this OS on my Droid3 and it may still be under development? FWIW to you, this is the first I've rooted or modded a smartphone in my life, from 0-full speed in a couple hours is what I was shooting for using everyone elses experience.
thanks
Make sure you wiped the data/user settings in Safestrap. You lose your apps & settings but those items from a previous install can cause that type of boot issue.
Sent from my XT862 using xda app-developers app
Phibernaut said:
Make sure you wiped the data/user settings in Safestrap. You lose your apps & settings but those items from a previous install can cause that type of boot issue.
Sent from my XT862 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. since my last post I used a more detailed how-to, and wiped 3 different areas for data. Now, i had only a black screen (with power, barely lit) and it never even got to the cool blue screen.
I'm currently in safestrap after pulling my battery again, just trying to figure out how to revert back to my standard OS (rooted) and try a ROM like MavRom since it's suppoedly fully capable and stable. I'd love ICS, but I just want a working phone right now
---------- Post added at 10:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 PM ----------
good news is, I did enough steps correctly, that I was able to startup in my unsafe mode, and my normal rooted system is functioning fine. That makes me very happy.
This duel boot thing is pretty cool, reminds me of having bootable thumb drives on my old linux system with different OS's. I hope i can get a seperate OS working, however, that fits my needs for a day to day functional phone, without all of Verizon's crap on it
Once rooted use titanium backup to back up apps and data.
Only restore with the same ROM though, the following is in increasing order of risk
restore app only to exact same ROM+version
restore app+data to same ROM+ver
restore app only to update of same ROM
restore app+data to updated ROM version
play chicken with a bus on a highway
restore apps to different kernel e.g. CM7 backup => restore to CM9
check to see what a gun firing looks like down the barrel
restore app+data to different kernel
restore app+data to an older ROM or kernel
do anything at all with system apps+data if you don't know what you're doing
Just tried it and it reset the stats.
It does? I thought Chainfire said he was having issues with Knox and it might not ever work for our device? But this is great freaking news and I hope it's true. Anyone else confirm this.
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
---------- Post added at 04:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:30 AM ----------
Okay looks like it does work. One question. Can you get the device status to official? I can't access a app for work when my device status is not official so I have been not been able to root my device until this app fixes that.
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Yep, but I also have knox frozen with titanium backup. 0/official
And I have oudhs recovery and it's still good. The results I'm getting now are better than previous official roms with ta.
Please, can anyone else confirm this? I have been awaiting this news for some time now and just need a little more proof that I can safely run it on my Sprint SG4 with MF9.
TIA
Worked...but after reboot, Download mode shows Original, Binaries shows Custom, and phone status shows Custom. Triangle Away still shows 1. I am stock except for Hotspot mod.
Always-Learnin said:
Please, can anyone else confirm this? I have been awaiting this news for some time now and just need a little more proof that I can safely run it on my Sprint SG4 with MF9.
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3.05 is working. Just ran it and counter has been rest. "Must be on a stock (Samsung) kernel,or you will soft-brick or boot-loop and will need to reflash your firmware."
Confirmation working but after first boot device status says scanning then goes back to custom.
I'm full stock rooted only, no mods.
So it's good to reset and flash to 100% stock it seems. Unless it is just something with my s4? If others can confirm this? Still happy that it works.
I'll freez knox and see what happens.
Like I said before, I'm running stock rooted odexed mf9 oudhs recovery and stock kernel. When I boot into download mode it says official official. Any other combinations of things that other people are running, could or could not work or work the same as me. Different kernels, recoveries, etc. I just checked in titanium backup and I have both Knox apps backed up but frozen so they're not running. Your mileage may vary. My counter, when triangle away polls it, used to be 4. Now it's 0. Like the warning screen in ta says, custom recoveries and kernels could muck things up. I took a chance with oudhs recovery and got the empty chamber.
For those thinking about changing recoveries, I've had zero problems since I first installed oudhs recovery. MDC, MDL and mf9. The only thing I see that might be missing is the ability to set the time and date for nandroid backups. I've flashed the hotspot mod before with no problems. I've flashed a custom ROM with no problems (I forgot which rom). I flashed a custom kernel and the reboot mod and the phone didn't like it. I don't think it's the Recovery's fault but I'm not certain. My phone could just be really picky about what custom things are on it.
patrockss said:
Confirmation working but after first boot device status says scanning then goes back to custom.
I'm full stock rooted only, no mods.
So it's good to reset and flash to 100% stock it seems. Unless it is just something with my s4? If others can confirm this? Still happy that it works.
I'll freez knox and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same results here, and I froze Knox before trying it. It did say all official on the first boot. So I guess this would be a way to get it official if you needed to for whatever reason, but you might have to install the stock recovery to get it to stick. I'm using the latest release of TWRP 2.6.5, I believe. MF9, stock rom, rooted.
I did a little more playing around with this. It stays all official as long as I don't go into TWRP. That always sets the binary back to 1.
If I cared more, I'd be tempted to load OUDHS again and try. But I like TWRP, so staying with it for now.
jejb said:
I did a little more playing around with this. It stays all official as long as I don't go into TWRP. That always sets the binary back to 1.
If I cared more, I'd be tempted to load OUDHS again and try. But I like TWRP, so staying with it for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oudhs behaves the same way. It's not flashing something that trips the counter, it's going into custom recovery. Thanks for pointing that out. I just discovered something I didn't know.
i have Hotspot mod with MF9 and twp. if i go back to stook recovery can i get it to show stock on all settings or will the Hotspot Mod trigger the custom under settings for device status?
cwb1231 said:
i have Hotspot mod with MF9 and twp. if i go back to stook recovery can i get it to show stock on all settings or will the Hotspot Mod trigger the custom under settings for device status?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my setup also...I think that rentering TWRP is tripping the counter as indicated above. Download Mode shows "Custom" Binaries and Status shows "Official." Under About Phone I still have 1.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
Flashing in recovery doesn't trip the counter and change to custom, booting into custom recovery does. I booted into recovery and didn't flash anything and it tripped the counter.
So if you use recovery, just go back into triangle away and reset everything and it should stick (until you boot in recovery again).
After TA I still have custom under device status. Is there any setting that will allow me to have this read official (apart from inheriting?)
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4
---------- Post added at 07:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------
Unrooting sorry for auto correct
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4
I have not used twrp for very long. I've read that some people had problems with previous versions. I don't know how stable it is now. It's your choice if you want to stay with that recovery or try another, just to get it to read Samsung official and zero flash count and stay that way after reboots (unless you go into into custom recovery that is).
Also, maybe the way I set my phone up might, or might not, have something that's different with yours. I did, with PC Odin, a full mf9 tar flash, chainfire root, then oudhs recovery. Before I rooted it, but after the main ROM flash, I did a full factory reset in the phone settings, in account section. I did a reboot into the normal phone running mode, then shut down after a couple minutes to let the installation settle down. I flashed the hotspot mod with custom recovery. I don't know if motochopper works because I've never used it. I've only ever used the chainfire PC Odin tar method. Just sharing this info so maybe, if anyone cares, we can possibly come up with what works and what doesn't and how the phone was flashed and set up. One person said they have twrp on stock rooted and it's working for them. Another person has a similar setup but it isn't working as good for them as it is with the first guy. More information given, easier to determine what is or isn't happening.
cwb1231 said:
After TA I still have custom under device status. Is there any setting that will allow me to have this read official (apart from inheriting?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably not. If running it does not set it to all official, assuming you've NOT gone into any kind of custom recovery since running TA, you may have some combination that will not allow it to be reset.
---------- Post added at 07:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 AM ----------
oscarthegrouch said:
Flashing in recovery doesn't trip the counter and change to custom, booting into custom recovery does. I booted into recovery and didn't flash anything and it tripped the counter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I was bored yesterday, so put OUDHS recovery back on and did some more testing. Same, same.
So if you use recovery, just go back into triangle away and reset everything and it should stick (until you boot in recovery again).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I do nandroid backups fairly often, so it would not be worth it to me to do this each time I came out of TWRP. But I can for sure see using, and am glad it's available, in case I ever need to worry about a warranty claim. Of course, I'd probably just go back to stock MDL or MF9 in that case anyway, I guess.
thanks for the explanations. my knowledge level of rooting et al is that of a moderately well trained chimp. i can follow directions but not completely sure why i am doing something. i realize this is a little off topic but you have all been so helpful i will forge ahead. i am wondering why i need custom recovery rather than stock recovery. is it necessary because i am rooted or could i use the hotspot mod and then revert to stock recovery. i have no real desire to do any further tweaks (unless i can get this thing to pay my bills without charging my bank account). Also if my phone crashes and i wnat to bring it back for warranty do i need custom recovery in order to go back to stock rom or can i do that with stock recovery? thanks again.
cwb1231 said:
thanks for the explanations. my knowledge level of rooting et al is that of a moderately well trained chimp. i can follow directions but not completely sure why i am doing something. i realize this is a little off topic but you have all been so helpful i will forge ahead. i am wondering why i need custom recovery rather than stock recovery. is it necessary because i am rooted or could i use the hotspot mod and then revert to stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good questions. I've not used the stock recovery much, so not all that familiar with it. But the custom recoveries do give you options you don't have in the stock one. I don't think the stock one gives you the ability to do a Nandroid backup, for example (not sure on that, though).
Here's where you can get a .zip of the MF9 stock recovery, if you want to try it. You'd need to install it via your current recovery:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2357471
Also if my phone crashes and i wnat to bring it back for warranty do i need custom recovery in order to go back to stock rom or can i do that with stock recovery? thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock recovery would install it from a .zip. But for sure you can use ODIN to do it from a .tar or .tar.md5 file. If you haven't used ODIN yet, install it on your PC and get familiar with it. Very easy to use.
EDIT: I just installed the MF9 stock recovery from the link above just to see. It does not have the backup/restore option, as I thought. Nandroid backups are awesome, too. TWRP also gives you a file manager, log export, fix permissions, ADB Sideload, terminal command, etc. So lots of nice tools compared to the stock. Stock only gives you a few "apply update" and wipe data/cache options.
thanks i did just install the stock recovery on my phone so i can restore if needed. i figured that it was pretty limited so keeping custom for now makes sense so i can make back ups. i am afraid to mess too much with anything because i won't know how to fix it if i crash it. i used odin to root and now have mobile odin so if i need to hopefully i can install the stock recovery if needed right from the phone.
As I've learned from my past mistakes, with this phone, which I continue to make from time to time, is to make a nandroid backup before flashing anything. Yeah it takes more time, but if something messes up, you have a backup ready of your most recent install and apps.
If you ever had loaded into recovery in temporary TWRP you'll note that even after formating /data/ and doing an advance wipe (selecting everything), then enter the file manager there is still a bunch of folders and some files throughout your device.
Is there a way to wipe out everything and start completely 100% fresh?
DO NOT DO THIS --- OR --- DO but do not cry about it
I have an answer to my question and it is as I suspected. The short and more official answer is, no. The longer answer is, yes, technically. -- But you should not try it unless you are 100% sure you can live without your phone (forever).
As it turns out no one had a full 100% flash for the whole device and its complete file system structure (except for Motorola). But as it turns out without a manufacturing cable it would be useless anyway. This is because part of your phone is protected and cannot be wiped clean and flashed so blindly... ie... Unlike your desktop computer. But if you're like me you have noticed some orphan files (a few logs).
Is it worth taking the risk just to clear some orphan files? Probably not. But since you do not have a manufacturing cable and technically, your phone can recover, what you can do is the following.
Do NOT use the TWRP installed on your phone. Rather use it in memory
Code:
sudo fastboot boot twrp-3.3.1-0-payton.img
Load TWRP and format DATA
Reboot, go to advance wipe, wipe everything.
Reboot to TWRP (again)
In TWRP via the terminal type in
HTML:
rm -r -f *
You will see a lot of things that cannot be deleted. This is because you do not have permission to do so. What little is removed will likely be restored after reboot from the master rom hidden somewhere on your phone which cannot be played with unless you have a manufacturing cable (so I am told). ---- If you have such a cable --- DO NOT DO THIS. --- If you suspect you have such a cable --- Do NOT do this. -- I did this with just my normal charging cable.
After you have run the command which will take forever. Tell TWRP to reboot to bootloader. You will now have a BLACK screen. This is where I panicked. I waited a while and long pressed down the power button (presumably turning off my device). Then I pressed down the power button and the lower volume button. -- Keep holding the buttons. -- It will take longer than you like but your phone will boot up. And low and behold everything that was in the master rom (chip?) has been restored and you will now see the bootloader screen (finally). Load TWRP and install your ROM of choice.
How many times have I done this successfully? 2x
Does this mean this is dependable? Unlikely
Do I recommend this? No.
Should you depend on this? No.
Are you taking a large gable? YES
Can this brick your device? YES, more than likely.
Should you do this if you have any doubts? NO.
Will you get any help if this goes wrong? NO.
So why did I do it? As I look to possibly upgrade my phone in the future I feel a little more daring and can afford to do so. lol
you say "yes, technically", but I have yet to see someone get back to a fully operational stock. The best they can do is get to a mostly operational custom ROM. I (and a bunch of other folks here) would love to be proven wrong.
KrisM22 said:
you say "yes, technically", but I have yet to see someone get back to a fully operational stock. The best they can do is get to a mostly operational custom ROM. I (and a bunch of other folks here) would love to be proven wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After performing this I installed only the official firmware. No additional ROM or GSI. The firmware itself includes the stock software.
A word of caution. --- I did this on 3 phones now. 2 work just fine. But 1 does not. The one that does not reports my IMEI as 0. This means it boots, it loads, it will play games and apps and update via Google Play Store, but it will never make a single phone call ever again. --- Food for thought.
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
KrisM22 said:
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The world will never know. lol --- I'm a Linux user and their app doesn't seem to like Wine. I suppose I could set up a virtual machine with Windows and hope to connect through that. But I was once informed you really cannot do that via a virtual machine. Unless I was misinformed?! In any case, flashing the phone is not a problem. I can wipe it and reinstall any ROM or GSI at the moment. Or I can repeat my process too back to stock under a full wipe. The results appear to be the same.
I already have ordered a cheap Moto G7 from Google as a replacement. My current plan will be to find a very light (small), bare-bones ROM / GSI and install it onto this Moto X4. From there I'll load it up with games and such and let the kids play with it. Figure since it cannot make or receive calls anymore (or text messages either) it will make for a fun little toy.
MotoX4 said:
The world will never know. lol --- I'm a Linux user and their app doesn't seem to like Wine. I suppose I could set up a virtual machine with Windows and hope to connect through that. But I was once informed you really cannot do that via a virtual machine. Unless I was misinformed?! In any case, flashing the phone is not a problem. I can wipe it and reinstall any ROM or GSI at the moment. Or I can repeat my process too back to stock under a full wipe. The results appear to be the same.
I already have ordered a cheap Moto G7 from Google as a replacement. My current plan will be to find a very light (small), bare-bones ROM / GSI and install it onto this Moto X4. From there I'll load it up with games and such and let the kids play with it. Figure since it cannot make or receive calls anymore (or text messages either) it will make for a fun little toy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yeah, in the past I have been a lot on Ubuntu and stuff like this is not forgiving for wine.
It's a darn shame that we can't just send these phones to Moto with $25 and get it fixed. Oh well!
KrisM22 said:
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto smart assistant can`t recognize the phone in rescue mode..
St.Noigel said:
Moto smart assistant can`t recognize the phone in rescue mode..
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Click to collapse
I know it can't on yours, and most folks with this prob. I was wondering about MotoX4's case. But thanks for trying it!
I had high hopes for that smart assistant when I discovered it, but no joy. When we lost RSDlite, we lost a lot - unless they upgrade it...
KrisM22 said:
I know it can't on yours, and most folks with this prob. I was wondering about MotoX4's case. But thanks for trying it!
I had high hopes for that smart assistant when I discovered it, but no joy. When we lost RSDlite, we lost a lot - unless they upgrade it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RSDlite? Lost? Is this what you seek? https://rsdlitetool.com/
MotoX4 said:
RSDlite? Lost? Is this what you seek? https://rsdlitetool.com/
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Click to collapse
6.2.4 won't recognize a Moto X4 after it is upgraded to Pie.
I used RSDLite since the times of the P2K and MAGX (Linux)... but since it's easier to use fastboot commands...
I have a stock X4 Android One around, if I want to flash Pixel Experience, can I go back to stock in the future?
joel_sinbad said:
...snip...
I have a stock X4 Android One around, if I want to flash Pixel Experience, can I go back to stock in the future?
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Click to collapse
In all probability, NO.
Then I'm gonna stay on Stock Rom, so... If I want to flash custom Roms, there's not way back...
joel_sinbad said:
Then I'm gonna stay on Stock Rom, so... If I want to flash custom Roms, there's not way back...
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Click to collapse
If you read a lot on this forum, that's the message I see.
I agree, NO going back. You can, I have... flash any factory Pie rom . All will flash fine and no IMEI, wifi. Radios are gone. I use Google Fi and cell data services go wierd on custom roms, if you want carrier switching.
This makes me think that the Moto X4 is more dangerous than the back then Atrix 4G with their Tegra 2 chipset...
joel_sinbad said:
This makes me think that the Moto X4 is more dangerous than the back then Atrix 4G with their Tegra 2 chipset...
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Click to collapse
I don't recall thinking that the Moto Atrix 4g was at all dangerous when I had one - a rather nice phone imho, though that was a very long time ago. I don't think of the Moto X4 as "dangerous" - it is simply that there is not a correct understanding of the Pie file structure by the custom ROM devs such that their ROMs would not so change the file structure of the phone as to prevent it from being flashed back to stock.
Users need to recognize that, with this phone, you can't get back to stock if you flash any custom ROM.
afaik.
This change happened with the file structure and boot structure changes of the Pie update. Prior to that, folks could get away with all manner of mods. Devs for this phone need to approach modifications with the idea of assuring that any mod can be flashed back to stock, BEFORE it is released. That has not happened. And likely won't. User beware!
KrisM22..... Thank you for stating what I could not do as well.
kkjb said:
KrisM22..... Thank you for stating what I could not do as well.
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we ALL do it, and CAN do it - all in hopes of saving some newbie from disaster!